Vents and caulk

[xbluex]

When putting the vents on the sides/back of the tank how do you guys do it? Is there just one on the outside of the tank, one on the inside, or two - one on the inside and one on the outside??
Also, on the crossfire website it says to caulk all the seems. Is there a non toxic caulk? Or would it be better to use aquarium silicone?
I'm going to buy all the supplies for 3 crossfire tanks this weekend WOOHOO! Finally! Just have tons of last minute stuff like this.

 

[drewdizzo]

If you want the side vents to look nice, you need to buy two for each side or 4 total per tank. I found that it is best to buy the painted ones from lowes, because the unpainted ones have tons of grease/oil on them which takes tons of time to clean off. The silicon sealant will be fine if you let it cure for at least 24 hours.

 

[WallenSD]

You can also get a non silicone caulk at Lowes. Thats what I use to seal the floors in mine and around the glass.

 

[xbluex]

I decided to go with non toxic silicone. And I only bought 6 vents(one for each side for 3 tanks) because I'm already starting to go over budget.
I am also now wondering if I should nail or screw?? I'm not sure how well melamine does with screws, any advice there? I probably won't need to worry about taking it apart, but I'm also worried about durability with just nails and glue? I'm so hopeless when it comes to this kind of stuff lol

 

[blackbearded]

I used drywall screws works really great just remember to pre drill the holes.

 

[xbluex]

Anybody good with wiring??
I'm trying to follow what it says on the crossfire page, but I'm well, a dumba$$...
On the website it says to take an extension cord and make sure to put the neg. of the light fixture with the neg. of the extension cord. How do I figure out which one is negative? On the light fixture one is black so I know thats the neg. but I can't tell any difference on the extension cord.
I was also wondering if theres a way I can wire 6 lights together?(2 lights in each tank, 3 tanks stacked) If it's too complicated tho don't even bother telling me b/c I don't want to try and mess it up lol
Thanks to everyone for all of your help so far!

 

[WallenSD]

The black wire on the fixture is the hot wire and I'm taking for granted there is a white wire also, that will be the neutral and maybe a ground (ground will either be just copper or covered in green). If you look closely on the extension cord it is divided down the middle. One side will have ridges along the the cord and the other will be smooth. The one with the ridges is your hot side. If the wires are not black or white, just look for the ridges. As far as the 6 connections, it can be done. What you need to do is have a junction box mounted somewhere behind the viv that you can connect all the wires together in (black to black and white to white and ground to ground if applicable). When you connect all the matching wires from each lamp (twisting them together) you need to run another wire off of them to plug into the wall (power supply). This wire needs to be a heavier gauge wire to hold all the lamps (kind of like a medium duty extinsion cord) you can buy it by the foot at Lowes. Cap them all off with large wire nuts. Place the juntion box cover on the box and your ready to go. You can also splice rocker switches to each cord going to the lamps to make it easier to switch each one on or off as you need to.

Hope this helps :bikerwave:

 

[WallenSD]

Correction. Sorry Blue, I said that in reverse. The ribbed side is the neutral and the smooth is the hot. I'm glad I went back and read it again....

 

[xbluex]

Thanks so much. I figure it's gonna end up costing more to wire them all together so I'm just doing them seperate. Thanks for telling me how to do it though, maybe later on when I can afford to I'll do that.
Okay I understand that the ribbed side goes to the white wire and the smooth side goes to the black wire, theres an extra wire thats yellow, which I'm guessing is the ground, what do I do with that? Theres only the two coming from the extension, so do I just leave it how it is in the casing part of the light fixture?

 

[WallenSD]

Answer a couple questions for me if you would. I need an idea what your working with.

What type of extension cord are you useing?
What kind of light fixture are you connecting to?
How many wires are comeing out of the fixture and the extension cord?
What color are the wires comeing from the fixture?
What color wires are comeing from the extension cord?
What is the reason for hooking a extension cord to the fixture---just to make it longer or the fixture is a hard wired fixture (has to be wired directly to house wireing or to a cord to be able to plug it in, in stead of house wire)

Most standard lighting fixtures, outlets and light switches are the same basic hook-up, black to black--white to white and ground to ground (if it needs a ground)

 

[drewdizzo]

If I were you I would not use screws with mdf. Cross dowel and bolts will make a much sturdier more reliable joint. You would hate to go to all the trouble of making these cages and then have to move them and have the screws rip out. Although you said you were over budget, and it will be more expensive to use the cross dowel hardware. Best of luck.

 

[xbluex]

The extension cord is just a cheap 6' household extension cord from walmart. It's white and had a 2 outlet plug on the end(which is now cut off from trying to figure out which wire is what)
The light is an outdoors spotlight. I have pictures on my other computer which I can post if you need to see everything. It only has a few inches of wires, one is black, one is white, and the other one is yellow and has a bright green screw holding it onto the fixture. So there are those 3 coming from the light fixture, and 2 from the extension cord. It was just like you said with the extension, one side is smooth and the other side has very tiny ridges on it, the actual wires are copper but the covering is white.
I'm pretty sure that covers everything you asked.
Oh the extension also has 2 prongs not 3, if that makes a difference.

 

[WallenSD]

Thanks for the info. All you should have to do is connect the black wire from the fixture to the smooth side of the cord and the white to the ribbed side. I would use in line automotive couplers (probably the blue ones would fit your wires best) to make the connection. They are very inexpensive. They also make what is called shrink tubes you can get to put over the connections and use a hair dryer to shrink them (you need to slide the shrink tube over the wire, make your connection then slide the tube over the connection and shrink it). You can get either at any auto parts store and are very cheap. What I would do first is twist the wires together (don't let the black and white touch while you test it) and test the light to make sure it is working correctly then you can connect them permanantly. If it doesn't work, you may need to get a three wire cord in order to hook up the neg. wire to, but it should work. Once you have hooked everything up and plugged it in, check to see if the extension cord is getting hot at the wall plug right behind the plug or at the connection. If it is getting too hot, the cord is not heavy enough to carry that fixture. You will need to go to a heavier cord. Probably to a medium 3 wire cord. and hook it up the same way, just hook the ground wire to the same place the fixture ground is hooked at the screw. Good Luck and let me know how everything turns out.

 

[MNbeardie]

Call me lazy, but I just use one of these http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/specialty-equipment/analog-timer-power-center.htm

 

[WallenSD]

That's cool MN, I'm fairly new to BDs. and I haven't come across one of those yet. That would be the thing to use...lol. How much do those run? Stores carry them or do you have to order? I think I'm the crazy one huh?..... :lol: